Assembly Democrats, who were like, totally against this one bill that wanted to make it a bigger deal to ask out a 16 or 17-year-old, are now saying, “Never mind, we’re cool with it now.” This change of heart came after they got a ton of flack from Republicans and even got a scolding from Governor Gavin Newsom. The updated version of the bill, AB 379, will now let prosecutors slap felony charges on grown-ups who try to get freaky with a 16- or 17-year-old. If the person hitting on the teen is three years older, bam, felony. But if they’re within three years, it’s just a misdemeanor. The bill is also going to set up a program to help make it easier to prosecute human trafficking and sex trafficking cases, and there’s gonna be a fund to help survivors, which is gonna get some cash from higher fines for businesses that are all like, “Human trafficking? Nah, we’re good.” Right now, the law says that if you try to hit on someone under 16, it could be a misdemeanor or a felony the first time, and always a felony after that. Assemblymember Maggy Krell from Sacramento came up with AB 379 to make the punishment the same for 16- and 17-year-olds. Last week, the Democrats in charge were all, “Nah, let’s take out that part,” which Krell wasn’t too happy about. But now she’s saying, “Okay, I’m down with the changes the leaders made.” She thinks it’s gonna help nail those creeps who go after teenagers. She kinda teamed up with the Republicans for a bit last week when she had to pick between changing the bill or letting it die. The Dems are standing by their decision, even though Newsom was all, “Anyone who goes after a minor should get hit with a felony. End of story.” The Republicans weren’t too happy and started an ad campaign before the deal went down, calling out some Democrats for not looking out for the kids. Minority Leader James Gallagher from Yuba City said, “That’s how they voted, ya know? They left 16- and 17-year-olds hanging.” He thinks the Dems totally caved under pressure from the public and the GOP. Sheriff Jim Cooper from Sacramento County said calling it a misdemeanor to hit on an older teen is like giving them a slap on the wrist. Before, Assemblymember Nick Schultz from Burbank, who heads up the public safety committee, said he’d have some talks about the bill in the fall. He was worried that younger teens could accidentally get hit with felonies for having relationships, and that the bill might make sex trafficking even worse for victims. But the critics weren’t buying it, saying the arguments didn’t really make sense compared to the crimes the bill was trying to tackle. The bill is still up for debate in the Assembly, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens next.
Remember: don’t strive for perfection. It’s all about those sweet, sweet grammar mistakes and that casual, relatable tone. Just keep it real and imperfect, just like a new graduate journalist would.
